Knees

     the first knee replacement was done in 1968.  currently in the US more than 600,000 are done a year and by 2030 that number is expected to be around 3 million! the knee is not our most complex joint-that is the shoulder-but it is the largest and is in almost constant use. at ground level, the force on our knees is 1 1/2 times our body weight-with each step. going up and down stairs 2-3 times and when you bend over to pick something up, 4-5 times  our body weight. knowing these numbers it should be clear how important it is to keep to a healthy body weight.
     our knees need to be flexible but also need to have strength and stability that comes from our muscles, tendons and ligaments. although keeping excess weight off is the primary way to prevent problems (i am not including injuries from sports, etc.) there are some other things we can do to help our knees stay healthy. one is to warm up before doing any exercise. we also need to strengthen our leg and especially our glute  muscles. two relatively simple exercises to start with* would be standing and/or prone hip extensions. don't want to do exercises like that-then at least try to walk as much as possible and keep to a healthy weight. i know that i don't want to be included in the statistics listed above. do you?

*if you already have knee issues speak first with your doctor about appropriate exercises.

Time Line

     it happens to almost everyone-over time we tend to gain weight and that is not good. this is just a partial list but these 4 items are considered to be the most common causes of that sly weight gain that happens as we age. if any apply to you please think about where you can make improvements....

1. eating high calories foods such as potatoes (of course a baked potato is better than chips but it also depends on what is added on top), white rice, anything made with white flour. sweets and desserts too often. processed meats and too much red meat in general. when eating red meat remember portion control and if possible buy grass fed.
2. drinking your calories. soda-not good. either you are getting high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners*. there is a difference in the body's response to carbs in liquids compared to in solid food even with the same number of calories. the carbs in liquid form will add to more weight gain. so this leads to...alcohol. moderation is the key. many people tend to eat more as they drink more.
3. too little or too much sleep. this is primarily due to how our hormones activate during sleep. most research indicates that 7-8 hours a night is best for most people. you should be in a completely dark room.
4. too much screen time means too much sitting and often the snacking that goes with it.
5. not moving enough, i.e. walking. and we need to do more as we age not less in part because our metabolisms go down.

     an extra 100 calories a day without burning them off adds up to a weight gain of 10 pounds per year. if that starts in ones 40's or even 50's just think what that means if like predicted, many of us  reach 100.

*in last week's post are details about what is actually in coke besides what is used for sweetness.

Do You NEAT?

     of course you do! the question is do you do enough. there is exercise-aerobic, weight lifting, what one does at the gym, etc. and then there is NEAT-nonexercise activity thermogenesis. this  is the energy we all expend doing things like gardening, house work even fidgeting. research shows that by doing more of these types of activities during the day we may burn an extra 350 calories without even thinking about it.
     NEAT is not a replacement for exercise but it does count towards our daily calorie burn. are you sitting? then tap those feet, swing that leg, roll your neck-it's all NEAT.

ps: for my mentor who always said that these types of activities don't count-well they do!

Water, Water, Water Everywhere...

     or not. nothing seems simple anymore! well, maybe drinking water is although in many parts of the world clean drinking water is not so simple. and look at california where mandatory conservation rules are in place with the possibility of several desalinization plants opening in the near future. we don't always think of how much water is used say in, for example, two  popular drinks that happen to be on opposite ends of the health spectrum.
     almond milk is rapidly gaining in popularity with most almonds being farmed in california. it has been estimated that it takes over a gallon of water to produce one almond. that's one almond! so think how much water each crop will need. the ingredients in most almond milks are: ground, toasted almonds, filtered water, added vitamins, minerals and natural flavors. some also have a stabilizer called carrageenan that is made from seaweed. instead, some brands  use  gellan gum that is a non-gmo fermented bacterial culture. wow. but that is thought by many to be "better" than the carrageenan. so the major concern here is the huge amounts of water needed to grow almonds on land that must be irrigated.
     another popular drink-coca cola-contains the following ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, caramel color (to make heat sugar with sulfite and ammonia), phosphoric acid (burnt phosphorus is processed to have the arsenic removed), vanilla, cinnamon, kola nuts, caffeine, carbon dioxide and water. coca -cola is shipped around the world and if you add up all the water involved in making a can of coke (other sodas are probably similar in usage) plus the shipping it uses over 30 gallons of water-for each can!*
     just something to think about the next time you have a drink of water, almond milk or soda.

*if you would like more details on this read "how to fly a horse" by kevin ashton. the book is about creativity in all of its many forms.